Drowning in the summer!

[Daid]

Our teenage son has the utmost respect for water, rarely going near it.

[alchresearch]

The man who died yesterday at the pit got into difficulty a fair way in.

 

I'm betting that he was someone more used to a swimming pool, where the water is just a foot or so deeper than your height. And the whole body of water is a constant temperature.

 

So you're not likely to get any shocks from sudden pockets of cold water and you can drop to the bottom, kick off with your feet and sort yourself out.

 

Education is the key. I'm pleased at least one South Yorkshire school headteacher has asked some open water triathlon swimmers in to speak to the children before they break up.

 

---------- Post added 17-07-2013 at 13:28 ----------

 

Some advice from the Outdoor Swimming Society:

 

http://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/index.php?p=swimming_tips&s=safe_swim

[NorthernStar]

[/color]Some advice from the Outdoor Swimming Society:

 

http://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/index.php?p=swimming_tips&s=safe_swim

 

That's a good link, I'm glad I'm not the only oddball into outdoor swimming, from your link I came across this if anyone else's is interested in finding places to go.

 

http://wildswim.com/#derwent-valley-reservoirs

 

I fancy doing one of the reservoirs if the weather holds out but they don't seem to have information on them, was thinking about maybe Agden, Dam Flask or Rivellin - Does anyone know of the potential dangers if any to look out for regarding them?

[Agent Orange]

That's a good link, I'm glad I'm not the only oddball into outdoor swimming, from your link I came across this if anyone else's is interested in finding places to go.

 

http://wildswim.com/#derwent-valley-reservoirs

 

I fancy doing one of the reservoirs if the weather holds out but they don't seem to have information on them, was thinking about maybe Agden, Dam Flask or Rivellin - Does anyone know of the potential dangers if any to look out for regarding them?

 

Reservoirs, as with most open water, tend to have undercurrents. These dangers are hidden and you probably won't realise until you are stuck.

 

Not only do you have issues with undercurrents, you stand the chance of being reported and or being caught by the rozzers. Water companies are keen on enforcing this.

[NorthernStar]

Reservoirs, as with most open water, tend to have undercurrents. These dangers are hidden and you probably won't realise until you are stuck.

 

Not only do you have issues with undercurrents, you stand the chance of being reported and or being caught by the rozzers. Water companies are keen on enforcing this.

 

Thanks for the reply, I'll give them a miss then but looks like there's a couple of good places near rivellin though, I'm definitely going to try those out.

[Agent Orange]

Thanks for the reply, I'll give them a miss then but looks like there's a couple of good places near rivellin though, I'm definitely going to try those out.

 

I agree with you there. If you are ever up in Scotland, you can swim just about wherever you want.

[davyboy]

When I was 5 or 6 I ran down the beach which was quite steep into the sea.

Unfortunately it was too deep for me and I went under.

I was right next to pleasure boat and I can still see the wader enclosed legs of the boatman in front of me as I went down.

My Dad who pulled me out was not well pleased as he was wearing his demob suit and his trousers were soaked.

Although I can swim (poorly and only in a swimming pool) the fear of drowning has never left me.

I tried snorkelling in 3 or 4 feet of water in Spain once, but the shear panic as my face went under was incredible.

I took my daughter to swimming lessons when she was 10 or so and she became quite good but gave it up when the club wanted her to become competitive which took the fun out of it.

It was fortunate that she did learn because on a holiday on the Broads on a hired boat her 6 years old son came up on deck without wearing his life jacket.

Just as his father told him to go and put his life jacket on the boat lurched and over the side he went.

Without thinking my daughter dived in and rescued the little begger.

Learning to swim can literally be a life saver.

[llamatron]

I just found this online.....

 

Drowning is the number one cause of death in abandoned mines. Most people involved in this type of accident went to a quarry for swimming. Quarries are extremely dangerous places to swim. Steep drop-offs, deep water, sharp rocks, flooded equipment, submerged wire and industrial waste can make swimming risky.

 

Another risk factor is the very cold water. Many quarry operations excavate to depths below the water table and use pumps to keep the mine dry while it is in operation. When mining stops the pumps are turned off and the quarry floods by the inflow of cold ground water. This ground water inflow can keep the quarry water very cold even in late summer.

 

Jumping or falling into cold water can be fatal - even for a young healthy person.

 

This is because they are abandoned! You wouldn't go to a quarry lake for a nature walk. I think whoever quarried it should pay to put it right anyway!

[alchresearch]

I fancy doing one of the reservoirs if the weather holds out but they don't seem to have information on them, was thinking about maybe Agden, Dam Flask or Rivellin - Does anyone know of the potential dangers if any to look out for regarding them?

 

There's an unwritten rule that you don't go into water catchment reservoirs, its all about respect for someone else's property. They can and do prosecute, but its a very long process. I've got a document somewhere showing the steps they take.

 

There's plenty of other swimming spots around.

 

The Rother is clean now, teeming with fish, and is as warm as a bath at the minute!

 

Park at Washfield Lane, walk down, over the railway bridge, over the new river bridge and then walk a little upstream to here:

 

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=treeton&hl=en&ll=53.380933,-1.356197&spn=0.000622,0.001742&geocode=+&hnear=Treeton,+South+Yorkshire,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=20

 

---------- Post added 18-07-2013 at 12:37 ----------

 

A good article here:

 

Wild swimming itself isn't dangerous, but our behaviour around water can be

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/18/wild-swimming-dangerous-water-heatwave

 

especially this bit:

 

more than 90% of outdoor swimming-related drownings are young males, often weak or non-swimmers, who have consumed alcohol.

[Peer Gynt]

When I was young every school had swimming lessons at the local baths, many firms had swimming night through their sports and social clubs.

being brought up in Walkley we Had Upperthorpe (with Herbert), Hillsborough, Glossop Road, my late Fathers firm used Park Baths.

There weren't many young people who couldn't swim.

We spent out summers down Rivellin swimming in the deeper parts and up Bradfield swimming in the river that fed Dam Flask, on the Snake near Alport Bridge there were deep pools where we swam on weekend camps with the Scouts.

At Millhouses open air baths you wouldn't know if anyone had drowned as the water along with being freezing was very murky.

In all those years I can't remember anyone drowning in the circumstances that they do today.